1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a personal watercraft having a gunnel or a buffer member that functions as a sponson and the buffer member for the personal watercraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, jet-propulsion personal watercraft have been widely used in leisure, sport, rescue activities, and the like. A body of the personal watercraft is comprised of a deck and a hull which are joined to each other at their edge portions, and this joint portion is called a gunnel. The personal watercraft is configured to have a water jet pump that pressurizes and accelerates water sucked from a water intake generally provided on a hull bottom surface and ejects it rearward from an outlet port, thereby obtaining a propulsion force.
A bumper (buffer member) made of synthetic resin is attached to the gunnel to absorb impact. In addition, a sponson (e.g., stabilizer) is attached at a suitable position on the hull which is closer to the bottom than the gunnel, and with the sponson, the personal watercraft gains predetermined cruising characteristics such as stability, during running at a straight-ahead position and cornering.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. Hei. 6-191466 discloses a body structure of a personal watercraft provided with the buffer member and the sponson which are independently attached to its body.